Ch. de Brague ’05 – 70 cl vs. Magnum!

What is it about a magnum? There is something very seductive about a magnum to me. Maybe it’s the pure heft of the bottle, the size of it (although I’m not a size queen) or maybe it’s just because it’s not something you see everyday. Whatever it is, my eyes light up whenever I come across a magnum. Magnums hold the equivalent of 2 bottles of wine and many think that the larger size allows the wine to mature not just slower but also differently. My plan was to compare a wine, bottled in a 70cl and in a magnum, and put those theories to the test.

Imagine my delight when I found the ’05 Ch. de Brague magnum on the shelves right before Christmas. I snapped it up and scurried home with my prize. Obviously more than two people are needed to down this baby so when my friend El invited me over for a dinner party at hers, I hauled over the magnum.

I stopped by Oddbins on the way over and picked up a regular 70cl size bottle for comparison, same wine, same vintage. Got to El’s, opened both wines, poured and then, disaster! The 70 cl was corked! So much for my taste comparison of magnums vs. 70cls.

Neil's mushroom risotto

Oh well, the Ch. de Brague is an ’05 Bordeaux superieur, primarily merlot with cabernet sauvignon and a dash of cabernet franc. The ’05 is a bit young but it had a lovely tannic structure, smooth and velvety with a black cherry fruit character and leather notes. Neil made mushroom risotto which was a great choice for this particular Bordeaux. I was disappointed that I couldn’t compare the two bottle sizes but there’s always next time.